ary Clark Jr is a blues player but you might not have said that 30 years ago; the tent would not be big enough to accommodate all his stylistic turns through rock, folk, soul, and - look away, purists - hiphop. shows exactly what he is about, referencing Woody Guthrie, drawing a line through American history to confront the racism of today, and doing so with celebratory power. That’s where he is coming from philosophically. Tone-wise, his guitar sounds like electricity that’s geysering out of the earth. Whether he is using the Epiphone Casino or SG, his tone sounds godly, typically running his guitarthrough a Vibro-King, and referencing electric blues trailblazers such as Muddy Waters in refreshing and vital new contexts. Clark understands that blues is a contradiction unto itself, an art that must venerate its past and preserve its traditions, and yet be brave enough to imagine its future. That is the urgent business that Clark is engaged in.
